D.C. Hotline: Get out the vote

“As our founding fathers intended, the Senate will perform its role as the ‘cooling saucer,’ where debate and amendments play a role in forging consensus and compromise,” said Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid four years ago, after the Democrats retook the Senate.

Today, most business leaders fear if Reid’s party retains control into 2012, the cooling saucer would turn into a hot plate of unfriendly legislation, with pro-union card check legislation and restrictive cap-and-trade rules on the front burner.

Most pundits have conceded that the House of Representatives will fall to the Republicans on Election Day, Nov. 2. However, many are torn as to whether the Senate will share a similar fate. In brief, here are eight key races to watch that will surely decide the balance of power in the Senate: Buck (R) vs. Bennet (D) in Colorado; Kirk (R) vs. Giannoulias (D) in Illinois; Angle (R) vs. Reid (D) in Nevada; Raese (R) vs. Manchin (D) in West Virginia; Fiorina (R) vs. Boxer (D) in California; McMahon (R) vs. Blumenthal (D) in Connecticut; DioGuardi (R) vs. Gillibrand (D) in New York; and Rossi (R) vs. Murray (D) in Washington. The NLBMDA encourages everyone to participate in American democracy Nov. 2.